Live vigorously! (Not vicariously.)

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Please don’t hate me when I tell you that I’ve never really dieted.What I have done consistently all my life is exercise like a fiend and eat like a banshee (for the most part consuming large quantities of anything and everything I wanted.) My personal training clients and people who have seen me racing (triathlon) or training, all assume that I eat healthy and adhere to a strictly nutritious diet. Only my inner circle know my dirty secret: horrible eating habits. “Do as I say, not as I eat.” I’m embarrassed to admit how much junk and chocolate and sugary items I’ve consumed every day for decades. And I now realize how fortunate I am that it didn’t have a disastrous effect on my health.

Another confession is that I have secretly envied people who eat nutritiously and say they feel great and perform better. I’ve always wanted to make healthier choices and reap the rewards of eating more nutritiously. But as we all know, wanting isn’t doing, is it?

What made me give Whole30 a try? I’d heard about it before (a colleague at work had an incredible post-pregnancy transformation) and my sister happened to mention that she was doing it so I figured, why not give it go? I’ve been feeling a bit sub-optimal and wanted to get rid of the bloating around my abs (that were a 6-pack not so long ago) and reduce my body fat %. (Note: the pics of me in the margins of this website are about a decade old.) I also wanted to defy the stereotype of the 50+ woman complaining that belly bloating and belly fat are inevitable consequences of aging. I’d say belly bloating and belly fat are inevitable consequences of chronic inactivity and poor food choices. For me, it’s the poor food choices.

I also wanted to see if losing some weight and eliminating inflammatory foods (such as dairy, fatty red meats, cheese, margarine, processed meats, alcohol, refined sugar and additives) would help me with my knee pain. (After 35 years of running, I literally ran through the cartilage in my knees and have severe arthritis, which prevents me from running and causes pain when biking, swimming, hiking, and even walking.) They say every pound of body weight equates to about 4 pounds on the knees so that in itself was enough to spur on my dietary experiment. I planned to do Whole30 for ~2 weeks or so to see what would happen. Note: The creators of Whole30 are adamant about sticking with it for 30 days and not weighing yourself until the end. I violated both these rules, and by Day 10, I’d lost 6 pounds and 2% body fat. Wow, I was impressed and hooked. Granted, I was super grumpy the first week and had to put myself on house arrest to avoid temptations of social eating and drinking. Within a week, I noticed my abs were coming back and belly bloating had become a thing of the past.My knee pain had faded too. I put on a pair of shorts that used to be a bit tight and the waist and backside area were loose. On Day 11, I went on a one-week active vaca, managing to stay true to the plan about 85 percent of the time.

It’s Day 40 and I’ve lost 7 pounds & 3% body fat. Mind you, I still exercise somewhat fiendishly, but am no longer eating like a sugar-crazed banshee. Note: I’ve been genetically blessed with a relatively flat stomach and high rib cage,which helps pop your abs when your body fat percentage is low. (My fat storage area is my butt and legs.) Also, I’ve never had kids so that could be considered another “unfair” advantage.

Here’s my ab progression:

Day 1

Day 7

Day 21

Day 30

I’ve also been able to run about 3 miles on the beach in the thick sand 3X without knee pain. Most importantly, the plan has led me to a healthier way of eating and living.

Albacore Salad

Egg Avo Arugula Salad

Berries, bananas and chia seeds

Tumeric Coconut Chips

Egg Over Avocado Salad

Tumeric Chicken

Sunny Side Up Avo & tomato

Shrimp Salad

Hitting the reset button with Whole 30 was exactly what I needed to change my eating habits for the better. I actually enjoy cooking now and coming up with creative, satisfying pure and simple nutritious meals.

Sure, the strictness of Whole 30 or any diet that eliminates certain food groups in their entirety, may not be sustainable, but “eating clean” / consuming fresh, unprocessed food is. Sure, it takes effort, discipline and determination, but I am here to tell you it works. Look for my updates at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and a year from now and I’ll share how I’m doing.

If you try it and then use it as your general guide or launch pad for your plan to eat healthy for life as I have, it just might work for you too.

With Whole30, you eliminate these food groups (many of them inflammatory and blood- sugar spiking) and all preservatives and chemicals completely from your diet and focus on eating clean, pure, simple foods. (Recently read an article that your body transforms chemicals, preservatives and other unnatural ingredients into fat. Here’s the scientific study on that one. Another study just came out that diet sodas causes diabetes too. And yet another study linked sugar to Alzheimers. YIKES!)

Thirty days gives your body time to recover from whatever ill effects those foods may be having. It’s like pushing the reset button on your health, habits, and relationship with food while highlighting the physical and psychological impact of the food choices you’ve been making.

The promise

Weight loss and enhanced wellness is the most obvious benefit, but that’s not all they promise:

It will change the way you think about food. Yes, I’ve been aware that I’ve been poisoning my body with sugar / chocolate binges, exacerbating my knee pain, and sabotaging my health. I always wondered what good nutrition could do for me. Finally, I’m on the path to reap the rewards.

It will change your tastes. Vegetables are tasting sweeter and I am enjoying them more.

It will change your habits and your cravings. Given that I have walked by rows of candy bars and passed them by several times, this must be true. And as I get more results, I become more resolved to stay true to eating well.

It will restore a healthy emotional relationship with food, and with your body. Yes, thinking of sweets as “treats” or “rewards” is a trap that sets up eating nutritiously as a punishment. This is part of why I was so grumpy the first week. You have to find other ways to reward yourself– mani-pedi, massage, chat with a friend, take a walk, play a game, etc.

It has the potential to improve the way you eat for the rest of your life and to improve your life on a larger scale. Yes, I believe and am now an evangelist. TryWhole 30 for a jump start to eating clean for life. Share your healthy eating story and tell us how you did it.

Note: I’m not an advocate of gimmicks or diets per se, nor a paid spokesperson for Whole30. As a personal trainer, I like to share what has worked for me and what may help others on the path to live more vigorous and healthy lives.

A good friend of mine from college, Chris Fortunato, just biked the Great Cycle Challenge to help kids fight cancer.

Chris Fortunato, Cyclist & Half-Century Victor

He’d been logging 17 mile rides. The personal trainer in me couldn’t help wanting to make it a little more interesting for Chris so I challenged him to ride a 25 miler, a 35 miler & a 50 miler – with a promised donation of a dollar per mile. He named it the Daunting Dobbs Dare. Note, Chris is NOT a hard core cyclist or triathlete (yet). And guess what? He completed my challenge today with his grand finale, half-century ride, a notable feat even for experienced cyclists! And he thanked me for throwing down the gauntlet and said it wasn’t bad at all. (I see a century ride in his future.)

Inspiration & Motivation

Sometimes it takes that extra push from an external source to just do it or do the things that we weren’t even sure we were capable of or hadn’t even imagined in the first place. Chris was inspired by a great cause and then my “daunting dare” topped it off.

Back when I used to run some grueling trail marathons, thinking about my Dad who had a stroke and was confined to wheelchair always renewed my grit and determination. I’ve also participated in a couple challenging 100 mile / century rides for cancer, thinking about what cancer patients go through helped me tell my legs to just shut up and keep pedaling.

If causes inspire you, there are tons of walks, runs and bike rides out there where you can contribute to a greater good, improve your health and fitness, and have a good time with like-minded peeps.

Even personal trainers and coaches need motivation and more often than not it comes back to us from people we coach. For instance, I’ve gotten away from biking lately, other than an occasional 35 mile ride. I’ve been doing other things, swimming, yoga, hiking, mt. biking, rollerblading, weight-lifting etc., but just haven’t been motivated to go the distance on the bike. The thing is, I have been missing the quality endurance training and serious calorie burning of a long ride. So guess what? After Chris achieved his 50 mile goal yesterday, I amped-up my standard route and road 50 in solidarity with him. Chris inspired me.

Notablely, I was inspired and encouraged by good friends to create this health and wellness blog and my adventure travel blog. It took their kind and persistent nudging to get me to commit to taking those first few steps.

I’m also inspired by other fitness professionals. Last week I took a handstand class from local yoganastic guru, Lexi Beal.

Lexi Beal, Yoganastic Guru Extraordinaire

Her grace and strength inspire me and I wanted to challenge myself to do a handstand. Why? Because I’ve never done one and I aspire to have that kind of strength, balance and core control. Did I do it? Well, I did go heels over hands, but only made it to a wall stand.

And that was still a feat for me. Still “on the wall” about taking my handstand practice further. While I love trying something new, I do want to preserve and protect my shoulders for swimming…As we get older, we sometime have to make those kind of choices. (Sigh, but that’s a subject for another post.)

We’re all on this life, health and fitness journey together. Who can you inspire to help them fulfill their potential or explore something new today? And who will inspire or motivate you to rise up to your next challenge, personal, professional or fitness?

Share your stories and let’s help each other grow and become our best selves – mind, body and spirit. Nameste.

Getting outside on the trails for a refreshing workout beats the gym any day. First, the immersion in nature is a feast for the mind, body and spirit. Second, there are too many benefits to count, including the cardio advantages, reducing your risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, obesity and lowering your blood pressure. Muscle benefits extend from your calves up to your quads, hamstrings, hip flexors and glutes through your core (especially if you’re trail running) and up to your shoulders. Sold? Ok, now if you want to get the most out of your trail time, head for the hills, or mountains, for that matter.

A 5%-10% incline boosts your calorie burn by as much as 30%-40%. I’m a glutton for the incline. (Check out the Monserate hike here.) Traversing uneven terrain, recruits your core muscles, and helps improve balance and flexibility.

Using hiking poles will amp your caloric burn up even more as you engage the muscles of your upper body. (Poles will help save your knees on steep downhills as well.) Carrying a stuffed backpack will also boost your caloric burn by another 10-20%, depending on the load. Get the scoop on this amazing hike in Mammoth Lakes.

To top it all off, that magical combo of exercise, nature and fresh air will have you sleeping like a baby.

Like the idea, but not sure you’re ready to “go wild”? Start by walking with a friend in your neighborhood, then head to a park. Before you know it, you’ll want to explore more – farther, longer, wilder. Be safe, use common sense and the buddy system.

Did you know that nature improves our well-being so much so that studies show that even a fleeting look at a natural object (plant, bird, ant, flower, etc.) can improve our quality of life? Unfortunately, in today’s urban, indoor, sedentary society, most of us are as disconnected from the nature around us as we are from our own physical bodies.

9 reasons to “go wild” and immerse yourself in nature, the gift that keeps on giving

Healthy body

Reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and boost the immune systems

Delivers a scientifically proven anti-inflammatory effect

Promotes a healthier microbiome (the beneficial bacteria in our bodies)

Healthy brain

More robust amygdala, a portion of the brain that helps process stress

Enhanced plasticity of the brain, ability to adapt to learn new thing and recover

Improved brain development & higher cognitive functioning in children with fewer incidences of behavioral and emotional problems

Helps prevent cognitive decline

Healthy mind

Helps combat depression, anxiety, stress and headaches

Boosts creativity and productivity

Scientists found that the “wilder” the setting, the better it is for us. Think forests and coastal areas, but we hardly need scientists to tell us this do we? People have been “taking cures” at the seaside or in the countryside for centuries.

So how do we maximize nature’s positive effects? Yup, you guessed it – get physical in nature. (You are welcome to translate that any way you want – I’m keeping this post PG.) Formal exercise isn’t the end all.

Hiking or walking in nature is the simple Rx for so many of our 21st century ailments. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise–because it’s what comes naturally to us. We are not built to spend our days sitting at our desks, on our couches, or in cars, buses, planes, or trains. We are genetically wired and built for daily, long walks. Our hunter-gather ancestors’ survival depended on daily movement in the natural world (walking, running, climbing, scrambling, swimming, etc,). And our health and well-being today still does.

Just living the active, outdoor life and packing in as many adventures as I can. Check out my posts about this crazy escapade on my adventure travel blog at onthelooselive.com. See the critters and other wild ones, (including mtb legends Hans No Way Rey and Missy the Missle Giove), we met on our TransCatalina journey.

I captioned this pic of my first time surfing a short board “In the Moment” for my Instagram feed@onthelooselive. It captures the great thing about so many vigorous, outdoor athletic pursuits and creative pursuits as well. When you are in the moment, aka “the zone”, you are completely absorbed, anchored by your senses and grounded by your physicality and concentration. There’s no room for all that other stuff that can bog you down. Total immersion – it’s the best way to cleanse your mind and renew your spirit of joie de vivre.

There are so many wonderful ways in this life for us to experience those magnificence moments of pure bliss.

I’m not a a very good surfer, but I enjoy it, especially when the water is warm and the waves are friendly. I’ve been surfing an 8 foot board for a while, but have always wanted to try a shorter one. They’re a lot more challenging though… Since I don’t surf a lot, I’ve been hesitant to try because my skills aren’t up to par and I don’t practice enough…Lots of excuses not to … (Sound familiar?) So the other day, my BF brought a 5 foot foamy to the beach and encouraged me to try it. I had a blast. Sometimes, even self-motivated peeps, need a little extra push to get out of their comfort zone. Thanks Ken. : )

So back to the fitness bandwagon, there are a couple takeaways here. In order to create and immerse ourselves in these moments of pure joy in our activities of choice, we must be fit enough to participate.

Sadly, I know many women who no longer surf because they didn’t maintain the upper body strength to push themselves up. (Semi-regular push ups would have kept them surfing and most could start strengthening and return to it if they were so inclined…) Unfortunately, there is so much more to lose and at risk when we relinquish our strength and baseline fitness levels.

Being fit for life means preserving our quality of life and health, enjoying the activities we love, and being able to discover new ones.

Cultivating our health and fitness in some way everyday is essential – even it just translates to eating extra vegetables and taking more walks. What we do today determines what we’ll be able to do tomorrow and the day after. No doubt I owe being able to push off of and stand up on the 5 foot board to my regular swim sessions, push-ups, weight training and yoga practice.

What’s your favorite “In the Moment” activity? (Keep it PG please.) And how do you stay fit for life?

Ps. I know the pic is horrible quality, but it does capture the essence of this post and my feat. (Also, it’s probably the worst pic of me – 2 people who know me thought it was my BF. So much for vanity these days anyway…)

Fitness means cultivating an active lifestyle that’s sustainable for you. That means it has to be fun and rewarding for you. Exercise / moving our bodies should not be a necessary evil, but a fundamental pleasure.

I run into lots of people who suffer from various forms of workout “burn out”. Unfortunately many of them drop all activities and loose what fitness they’ve gained. Many of these people have personal trainers who have over prescribed regimented routines or they’re following some training guide or guru.

I know someone who was on a strict, intense Ironman training program for 2 years. She set goals, signed up for races with friends, and followed the program to the letter. And she succeeded, completing Ironmans, half irons, many sprints, marathons, halfs, etc. She accumulated so many finishers’ medals that she had to buy racks for them. Now despite her achievements, and possibly because of them, she has zero enthusiasm for biking or running. It’s more than the familiar post-race partum. Here’s the rub, she doesn’t like biking or running, never has. So instead of checking the triathlon and running activities off her list and pursuing something she enjoys, she’s made a pact with a friend to run a mile a day, every day for 12 weeks. Sound like a good plan? Not to me. If you dislike running, how is forcing yourself to run a mile a day for 84 days in a row going to make it better? TBD if she sticks with this pact. If it works for her that’s great―everyone is different. I’m skeptical because it sounds like punishment (a minor daily flogging) without the promise of enhanced fitness or renewed mindset.

The struggle to overcome inertia happens to ALL of us

Yes, even the biggest workout fiends have those days where they struggle to pull themselves out of bed to make that 5:45 AM swim session, etc…And if having a pact with a friend helps us show up to our activity that’s great. As long as it’s an activity we like that yields the results we want.

But it’s important to know the difference between every day inertia and your body or mind telling you, “Hey, a break is the healthy choice today.” As in, recuperative sleep is going to do your body more good than a junk workout in an exhausted condition that may make you more susceptible to injury.” And in the scenario above, running a quality 3 miles a couple days a week is going to do your body and mind more good than slogging out an uninspired mile every day will. I get that some people need discipline and regimented workouts to overcome inertia. I’m just saying monotony is monotony and if you’re already burn out on an activity, forced monotony is not going to help.

What’s important is that we make the positive choice to move more often than we succumb to inertia. And as long as we’re happier for it once we’ve done it, we’re choosing the right activity for ourselves. Dread must transform into pleasure―whether it’s the endorphins, the fresh air, the company, the scenery, the results―it must make us happy, or we won’t sustain it for the long run.

If you find yourself force fitting some type of exercise, why not substitute an activity that makes you happy? Note I chose the word activity because exercise and workout have taken on negative connotations. Life’s too short for self-inflicted punishment when there are so many joyful ways for us move, experience the world around us and interact with each other. Change your mindset on exercise. Think of activity time as your adult play time with or without playmates.

8 Questions to help you discover your activity bliss

What activities do you love that you “used to do” ? What’s keeping you from enjoying them today? (Ok, injuries are legit excuses. My favorite activity was trail running and severe chrondomalacia/ runners knees prevents me from doing so, but I still hike…)

What activities have you always dreamed of trying? Set a goal of trying 1 a month.

When was the last time you mixed it up? (The same routine day in and out not only kills motivation, but it won’t rack up the results you want.) Keep it fresh by rotating your activities, and adjusting intensity and duration.

Are you getting results? (When you define and attain results that are meaningful to you, you’ll appreciate the activity more- lower body fat %, personal record run times, stress release, a calmer, happier mind set, etc..)

What activities have you tried once and dismissed? Try again. If it’s skill -based, you need to give yourself time to develop the skills before making the final determination. Also as you evolve, you may find your activity tastes change. (For me, yoga falls into this category. Previously, I resented taking time from my endurance sports. Now, I really appreciate the balance it brings to my body and mind and understand how it could have benefited me then, had I been more patient.)

Are you having fun; does the environment engage you? (What would make it more fun for you – add music, friends, a change of venue, etc…)

Who inspires you? What are they doing? Even personal trainers need inspiration now and again. I follow a few kindred spirits on Instagram and have a couple of people in my life who help keep me motivated and engaged.

Get back to you and rediscover your physical bliss.

Sometimes just getting back to the basics can be refreshing. Long before triathlons, I was big on weight training. I’m coming back to it now because it’s a great way to maintain muscle tone and boost your metabolism. Both become more essential as we get older…

PS: Want a great running substitute that will bring back childhood memories and can be done anywhere? Pick up a jump rope, you’ll get an efficient workout in less time and with less impact than running.